Commander For The Day
by Team Rocket Grunt
Summary: While Squall and Rinoa are away on their honeymoon Selphie takes it upon herself to become the Commander of the Garden. Hyne help us all!


**Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VIII**

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At the train station in Deling City Squall held his newly purchased cell phone against his ear as he waited for someone to answer his call. Despite how useful the new device was Squall hated it. It wasn't even his idea to buy the damn thing in the first place but Rinoa had told him that he needed a phone and Squall knew better than to argue with his wife.

Wife, the word still felt strange to even think. It may have only been a few days since the wedding but Squall still could not believe it. As he looked over at the ticket booth by the train station he could see Rinoa speaking with the sale clerk there. With a dreamily expression on his face, one which he would never admit to, Squall would have been content with watching her all day. At least he would have been until he was awoken from his thoughts when someone finally answered his phone.

"Commander Selphie here of the Balamb Garden how can I help you," a voice cheerfully asked over the phone.

When Squall heard Selphie answered his call in the way that she did there were several red flags that went though his head. Not knowing where to begin he decided to ask the two most obvious questions that came to his mind.

"Selphie where is Quistis and why are you calling yourself the Commander? You know that Quistis is second in command and in charge while I'm away from the Garden."

"Not today Squallie today I'm in charge," Selphie replied in a sing song voice and with the nickname that Squall despised. Squall put aside his annoyance for the moment to find out what had happened at the Garden that would have Selphie commanding it of all people.

"Selphie what have you done with Quistis," Squall asked worried that the worst may have already happened.

"Don't worry Squall she just has the flu so I'm filling in for her while she's resting."

Squall really doubt that Quistis willingly went to her room to rest. Knowing her anything less than extreme force wouldn't stop her from doing her job. She was an even worst workaholic than Squall.

"You cast a sleep spell on her didn't you," Squall said knowingly.

"Hey I resent that," Selphie all but shouted into the phone. "Dr. Kadowaki said that she needed bed rest so she's getting it thanks to me. It shows just how true of a friend I am plus do you have any idea of how hard it is to cast status changing magic on someone as high level as her? It took four times before she would finally drop and that whip of her's hurts like hell!"

Squall's eyes went wide after hearing this latest development. In his mind the situation had just went from code orange to code Hyne help us all.

"But let's not talk about work," Selphie said changing the subject. "How was your honeymoon? Did you use those handcuffs I sent you?"

"Forget the handcuffs! Where's Cid?!"

"He and Edea are having a couple's day in Balamb. They're so cute together now that Edea has started aging again. I kept forgetting that they're the same age before when it looked like Cid was robbing the cradle."

Selphie was getting off track so Squall tried to take control of the conversation before she could derail the entire thing.

"Where's Xu," he asked hopefully. There had to be at least one sane person at the Garden. Besides himself he could count at least three other people sane enough to run the Garden smoothly off the top of his head. He wasn't too sure what that said about the level of security at the Garden but still somebody had to be there he could trust.

"She's on a mission," Selphie replied casually. "Also she took Zell and Irvine with her so it's just little old me holding down the fort. Oh by the way, where did you get this cool looking cannon on your desk? Does it shoot real little cannon balls?"

Which was when Squall finally reached his breaking point. Never mind the fact that the Garden and it's students could be in trouble. Instead what really pushed him over the edge was that Selphie was touching his things. His own person things on his desk!

Damn it Selphie! Get your hands off my cannon and get your ass out of my chair this instant," Squall yelled into his phone.

The people around him at the train station began to look at him very alarmingly. Just who was this angry young man dressed in leather they asked themselves. Many of them were beginning to wonder if he was mentally unstable because seriously it was over a hundred degrees outside. How was he not dying of heat exhaustion in that leather jacket?

As for why Squall was being so possessive about his personal possessions? Well that may have to do with the fact that Squall grew up in a house filled with several other children like most orphanages tend to be. What few belongings he did have were usually stolen by Seifer or broken by Zell so in short Squall does not share things very well with most people.

"Well Squall if you can't talk to me like a reasonable person over the phone than I'm sorry but I'm going to have to hang up on you," Selphie said. "I would appreciate it if you learned to have better phone etiquette the next time you speak to me."

The next sound that Squall heard was the clink of the phone as Selphie hung up on him. Shaking with anger and glaring at the poor innocent phone in his hand the people at the train station gave Squall even more space as they avoided him. He didn't know what he was going to do when he got back to the Garden but whatever it was it defiantly wasn't going to be pretty.

"They said the earliest train back to Balamb wouldn't be running until tomorrow morning," Rinoa said as she walked back from the ticket booth to her husband. When she found him trying to melt the phone in his hand with his infamous death glare she knew it couldn't have been good news.

"What's wrong? Did something happen," Rinoa asked with concerned in her voice.

"Selphie has been put in charge of the Garden," Squall told Rinoa without taking his eyes away from the phone in his hand.

Hearing the new shift in leadership at the Garden Rinoa's eyes went as wide as saucers. It wasn't that Rinoa distrust Selphie per se. She is one of her closest friends but Rinoa also knows how overly rambunctious the nunchaku user can be. Rinoa has seen her friend not always think things though even with the best of intentions. Knowing Selphie the brunette could have declared a Sir Laguna's Day at the Garden or decided to make it mandated to join the Garden Festival Committee. Almost anything could happen under the command of Selphie and the very thought of it stuck a deep resounding fear inside Rinoa. This made one thing very clear to Rinoa something had to be done.

"I'll see about renting a car," Rinoa told Squall then ran off at a neck breaking speed to do so.

Squall mumbled a thanks to the trail of smoke that Rinoa left behind as he continued to glare at the phone.

One thing was for sure that day. It was definitely a good thing that Squall didn't have Ifrit junctioned otherwise the phone in his hand would have definitely been melted by now.

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End file.
